ABSTRACT
Gross enrolment in higher education captures the gaps of gender and social inequalities in India. Participation of women, tribals, and Dalits in higher education continues to lag behind the other more privileged sections, in spite of all the initiatives for positive discrimination and affirmative action for the under-privileged. The quality of leadership makes or mars a higher education institution. Higher education requires academic freedom to experiment and innovate. Mainstreaming skills requires engagement with the school system and setting up of community colleges that provide a bridge for vertical mobility of those with skills. Youth in India want quality higher education that leads to decent employment. The most critical challenge is that the best academics do not have the money to set up a ‘not-for-profit’ educational institution as they cannot get bank loans. The vulnerable social groups and women still lag behind in access to higher education.
